World Of Dreams And Darkness
by Luthiaesc
Summary: Naruto had an incurable illness, and his only hope of surviving is to find the Sannin; all 3 of them. How will he keep his illness a secret from his peers, and who will find out before he gets treatment? No pairings yet Title changed!
1. Illness and Flashbacks

Yeah... So... This is my 3rd Naruto Fanfic... Hope you guys like it!

Summary: Naruto has an incurable illness, and his only hope of surviving is to find the Sannin. All 3 of them.  
Disclaimer: Naruto, the characters and the settings (and some of the plot line) all belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing! So don't sue me!! please?

On we charge!

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Naruto had known of Kyuubi being sealed in him since he was 2 years old

Naruto had known of Kyuubi being sealed in him since he was 2 years old. He remembered the first time he had ever "met" the demon fox; his guardian at the orphanage had poisoned his food, and he passed out…

-FLASHBACK-

The darkness that had consumed his vision only moments before slowly faded, revealing a place with likeness to a sewer – a wide tunnel, pipes running along the surfaces, the floor damp, and water dripping down the walls. It was dark, but he walked forwards, slightly afraid. Every step he took echoed off the walls, floor and ceiling, giving it a hollow, tinny sound that pierced his ears. He noticed that he could see quite well, even in the darkness, and he could feel each individual tile beneath his feet. Every one of his senses had increased…

The young boy heard a low rumble, and headed towards it. Soon, the tunnel stopped, and Naruto found himself in a huge room, with iron bars running across the middle, floor to ceiling. As he stepped forward, the rumbling grew louder, and he realised the noise was actually a continuous growl. He noticed that there were two bars touching each other in the middle of the row, with a small piece of paper attached. There was a single kanji on the paper that read "seal". Yes, Naruto could read. He knew his IQ was higher than most people in the village – almost impossible for someone his age – and he had learned the hard way that he needed to show the villagers that he was an idiot. If they knew he was smart, they'd deem him a threat, and the attacks would only increase.

He raised a hand to the seal, and the growling grew louder. Suddenly, a huge pair of blood red eyes appeared in the darkness behind the bars. The pupils were slitted like a cats', and Naruto immediately thought "evil". He let his hand fall back to his side, and the eyes didn't disappear.

"Who are you?" The voice was low and threatening, with a certain undertone to it. Naruto couldn't quite place a name to the feel of it.

"Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." The red eyes widened ever-so-slightly.

"Naruto. Hm… How did you get here, Uzumaki Naruto?" Naruto felt tears well up in his eyes as he recalled what made him pass out.

"I… I was given my daily meal… But… The Matron put p-poison in it… I felt ill, and passed out… Then I was in a huge tunnel, and I walked for ages… That's how I got here…" The voice was silent and Naruto took the time to think over what had happened. The tears started leaking from his cerulean eyes , and moments later, his knees buckled, and he fell to the damp ground, crying. He felt his muscles start to shake, and was confused.

'_What's happening?' _He thought. He heard the thing behind the bars growl again, but this time it held concern. His entire Nervous System felt as if it was on fire. I was _**agonizing**_. Naruto felt his eyes roll back in his head, and suddenly, there was a flash in the dark room, from behind the bars. In the moment of lucidity before darkness claimed him again, the young blond caught sight of the being behind the bars.

A huge fox, completely red, demonic eyes holding un-heard sorrow, and nine long tails waving around behind it.

'_The Kyuubi no Kitsune,'_ he realised, _'is sealed within my body!'_ And with that, he felt himself float into unconsciousness for the second time.

When Naruto awoke, he had a raging fever, and he could feel the muscles throughout his body still quivering. The pain had subsided slightly, but he could still feel the sensation of boiling water being poured directly onto his nerves. All he could do was lie there and wait for both symptoms to subside to a tolerable level. It only took a few minutes, but when he tried to get up from his position on the floor, he found that his energy had abandoned him.

'_Kuso!' _He cursed in his mind, and heard a low chuckle. It seemed to originate in the back of his awareness. _'Kyuubi,'_ he concluded. The fox could, no doubt, read his thoughts, seeing as how they were connected through the seal tattooed on his abdomen.

'_You're the Kyuubi no Kitsune, aren't you? Strongest of the Bijuu, leader of Yokaigakure, supposed creator of Makai?'_ Naruto sent his thoughts inward, aiming them at the demon. He felt the Fox's surprise.

'**Yes, I am, gaki. How do you know all this though?'** Naruto mentally smirked. He knew more than anyone could imagine.

'_I studied you just a few weeks ago. The Yondaime sealed you inside a child, and it cost him his life... It cost my father his life...'_ He could definitely sense the demon's shock now, but it was underlined with sorrow and guilt.

'**I see. Well, kit, it looked like I have an awful lot to make up to you.'**

'"_Kit"?'_ Kyuubi chuckled in his mind.

'**We're going to be spending an awful long time together, so I might as well treat you nicely, and take care of you. So I call you "Kit", as a form of mutual understanding and trust. Agree?'** It took Naruto a mere three seconds to process what Kyuubi had said, and when he was done, he agreed wholeheartedly. **'Good. Now rest. I'm going to heal you from the poison and get rid of your fever… But I can't get rid of your Epilepsy. Gomen nasai, Kit…'** Naruto was confused.

'_Epilepsy? What's that?' _He heard the Kyuubi sigh, and waited for the answer.

'**It's when the muscles in the body go into spasms, causing the whole body to convulse. That's called a seizure. There are many things that cause seizures, and you have the one called Epilepsy. The poison probably triggered it… Unfortunately, it's incurable, and as time goes on, the fits will increase in frequency and severity, causing you to black out, and feel the side-effects more dramatically when you come to. That is, unless you get medication, and soon.'** Naruto sat it shock. _He had an incurable illness. But he was only two years old!_ He broke down completely, curling himself into a ball – with much effort and protest from his aching muscles – and cried himself to sleep. He found himself in front of the steel bars. _Cage,_ he thought.He carried on crying, and felt a warm, fluffy thing wrap around him to gently pull him into the cage with the demon. He realised it was one of Kyuubi's tails. He snuggled into Kyuubi's fur still crying openly at his discovery. He felt the ominous shakes in his body again, and panicked. He didn't want to have another fit so soon – he knew they were inevitable, but he was still afraid.

"**Kit, calm yourself down. It'll help. Trust me."** Naruto nodded slightly and forced himself to stop crying, and relax his body. The spasms continued for a few minutes before slowly fading, leaving Naruto exhausted and in pain. **"Well done. Now sleep. You need it, Kit."** Naruto nodded and snuggled into Kyuubi's fur once again. Sleep quickly came to him.

'_**Why did it happen to you, Naruto? You would have broken eventually because of me… But so soon? And from such a simple mortal disease? And I can't save you. I'm sorry… Truly sorry…For everything.'**_The Fox stared at the boy curled up in his tail. _**'He looks just like you, Minato-san. I'll take care of him – I'll get him through this… We just need to find Jiraiya-san and Tsunade-san… They'll stop your son from breaking and further; maybe even repair him a little… We can only hope, and pray.'**_** With** that, the demon closed his eyes and slept, keeping Naruto close to him.

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Miles away, a certain white-haired Toad Hermit sneezed, alerting the ladies in the bathhouse to his presence. _'Kuso!' _Scrambling to his feet as fast as he could – which was quite speedy – the pervert ran away from the horde, shrieks of "Pervert!", "Hentai!" and other synonyms chasing him.

Several minutes, and close misses later, a bruised and beaten Jiraiya sat, crouched behind a barrel, realising he could have teleported away and saved energy. He sighed, then cursed and ran again as the unnaturally keen ears of one of the women caught the almost inaudible sound.

And so the chase began again.

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"Sumimasen, Shizune-san." The buxom blond gambler said after a harsh sneeze.

"Are you okay, Tsunade-sama?" The dark-haired apprentice asked her sensei. Her answer was a nod.

"Probably just someone talking about the Legendary Sucker!" Tsunade cast her eye over her cards. "I call it." She laid the cards down on the table. "Three fives, two sixes." Her opponent laughed, laying down his own cards.

"Bad luck, Tsunade-san. Royal Flush." Tsunade groaned and handed over the money she had gambled. "Better luck next time." Tsunade's face grew harder.

"You're on, Teme!" With a smirk, Tazuna dealt the cards. And so the cycle began again.

-END FLASHBACK-

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Thanks for reading guys! I already have another chapter ready to be typed, but any ideas are still welcome...  
I would greatly appreciate it if y'all could send me reviews (hint hint)... Can't you just hear that little button calling out to you? Thanks guys!


	2. A Helpful Deer

Please look back to Ch1 for summary and disclaimer (isn't it obvious that I own nothing?) Thanks.

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Over the years, since he'd discovered his Epilepsy, Naruto had manages to hide it from the people around him

Over the years, since he'd discovered his Epilepsy, Naruto had manages to hide it from the people around him. It was easiest when he lived alone, but when he started at the Academy, he had to find new ways to keep his illness a secret.

The pranks he played were to waste his energy, so when he had a fit – it had become one a day at least – he would pass out, and the pain would be less because he had no energy to tense his muscles. Kyuubi had also created a Henge for him as well as a specialised Jutsu. The Henge created an illusion of Naruto grinning like an idiot, or eating Ramen, when he was really having a seizure. And the Jutsu was a teleportation, controlled by Kyuubi. When Naruto had a fit, the Fox would use the Jutsu to get the boy home, so when he woke, he didn't panic and cause another fit.

But Naruto's method of coping with the fits at school was slightly simpler: if one came on quickly and without warning, the Henge was used. But if he could feel it coming – which was most of the time – he excused himself from the lesson, either going to the bathroom, outside to the field or to the hallway if he couldn't get very far.

He had almost been caught having a seizure one day, by a Jounin who was paying a visit to Iruka-sensei with a message from the Hokage. The man was tall and wore a green spandex body-suit. His hair was black, and he had big eyebrows. He often went around shouting about 'Youth!' which was what alerted Naruto to his approach. Naruto was sure he would be seen, and so he called on Kyuubi to teleport them home.

Gradually, the fits grew stronger, and more frequent, and Naruto stopped attending the Academy; the real him, at least.

Kyuubi had taught him how to create a Shadow Clone, and each day, he would send one to school in his place. It fooled almost everyone. The only exceptions were a certain lazy genius in his class, and an ANBU agent who kept an eye on the young blond. It had become a common occurrence to Naruto to find himself in the Kyuubi's cage after a fit, but for the first time, he didn't wake up alone…

--FLASHBACK—

The trembling stopped, and the pain increased.

Naruto opened his eyes, and smiled at the huge Fox curled up around his, looking at him with concern.

"Yo Kyuubi-kun." The giant Fox relaxed slightly, a faint smile appearing on his ancient face.

"**Ohayo, Kit. How are you feeling?" **

"Like I got shat on and dragged through a field of Kunai. You?"

The demon chuckled – Naruto had a strange sense of humour.

"**I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Kit."** He grew serious. **"This is the third time in 18 hours, Naruto. You need to go to a doctor!"** Naruto's face lost the smile he had pasted on for Kyuubi.

"I know, Kyuu, but Konoha's doctors would just turn me away, or try to poison me like the last time… I'd need to leave the village to find a decent doctor."

"**The do that, Kit."** Naruto gave Kyuubi a confused look. **"Leave the village! You'd be coming back when you got help, so you won't be defecting." **Naruto smiled, and nodded his agreement. **"Good. Now, did you tell the Hokage?"**

"I… I tried to… But he only listened for a moment, and thought I was having 'girl troubles'… I mean, come on! I'm only seven! And _girls_?!" Kyuubi full-out laughed at that point.

"**I get ya, Kit. Now, you're healed from the fight with the table-edge," **Naruto grinned sheepishly, **"so why don't you wake up and start packing? We'll leave as soon as possible." **Naruto nodded, gave Kyuubi a quick hug, and willed himself awake.

He opened his eyes—

— and found himself face-to-face with Shikamaru, the boy who normally slept during class. His heart skipped in fear, and his body started protesting – three fits was enough for one day. But that didn't stop the seizure taking control. With the last of his energy, Naruto pushed Shikamaru away.

The Nara looked confused – what was wrong with the blond? He soon got his answer, however, when Naruto starting convulsing on the bed. _'Epilepsy.'_ He now understood why Naruto often excused himself from class.

Breaking from his thoughts, the youngest of the Nara clan darted forward, and grabbed Naruto's hand. He squeezed it gently, giving the blond something to focus on. The rolling eyes focussed for a couple of seconds, then disappeared back behind fluttering eyelids.

"Come on, Naruto." Shikamaru willed his classmate to stay awake. "Focus on me. Stay awake." He felt the hand in his grip tighten its hold, and slowly, the convulsions stopped.

The blond was left panting, and in pain. He opened his eyes and looked at the young boy next to him. He smiled.

"Thanks, Shika."

"No problem, Naruto. Why didn't you tell me about your epilepsy?" Naruto grimaced slightly.

"Because… I didn't want to seem weak… Nobody knew except me. And now you."

Shikamaru was shocked. _How had the younger boy hidden such a serious and frequently occurring illness?_

"Shika?" The brunette pulled himself from his shock to pay attention to his friend. Seeing that he had the Nara's attention, Naruto spoke again. "Could you get me a glass of water?" Nodding, Shikamaru rose from his place by the bed and headed towards the kitchen.

Thanks everyone! Please review? It makes me write faster - What I've just put up in this chapter is all that I've actually written for this story... D anyway, click the little button, people! And if you find any spelling mistakes or anything, please let me know, 'cause I'm my own Beta :S Thanks!


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